In fact, Artisti was created in 1997, following the changes that were made to the act to introduce equitable compensation rights and the right to remuneration for private copying. At that time, the Union des artistes, which is a type of union, created its own collective management firm in order to be able to give performing artists in the music sector the opportunity of collecting the royalties introduced in 1997, that is to say the equitable compensation rights and the remuneration for private copying.
Regarding the exemption for the first $1.25 million, I must say that at the time, broadcasters were rather unhappy that they would from then on have to pay equitable compensation royalties. That exemption was probably introduced at the broadcasters' request.
Despite that, now that several years have gone by, we see that radio is an industry that continues to function and to generate large revenues. That is why we say that there is no longer any rationale for that exemption in the law.